School safety high on legislators' list

The Ohio House and Senate will take a deeper look into school safety in the wake of the shootings in Newtown, Conn., and Chardon in northern Ohio.

Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch

The Ohio House and Senate will take a deeper look into school safety in the wake of the shootings in Newtown, Conn., and Chardon in northern Ohio.

“How can the legislature be helpful in this area?” asked Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering. She and Sen. Frank LaRose, R-Fairlawn, are leading an effort that started Tuesday with an informal meeting that included mental-health officials, the attorney general’s office, Democrats and school representatives.

“We don’t want to duplicate, but if there are things that we need to do in state law that could help prevent this kind of tragedy, we’re anxious to do it,” Lehner said.

A new joint Senate committee will hold public testimony over the next few weeks to get suggestions from groups such as law enforcement, mental-health experts and school officials. It will have a dual focus on prevention and protection.

Meanwhile, the Ohio House today introduced a place-holder bill among the first 10 bills that it plans to focus on in the first half of this year. Details of the bill will be filled out as the committee gathers input.

“We do have schools in Ohio that presently have armed employees, so that’s one possibility,” said Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina. “Also, we are anxious to hear from parents. That’s an important part of how we create changes that will actually make people more comfortable with the school setup.”

LaRose said legislators passed a school-safety plan in 2006. “After eight years of experience, maybe we can improve on that,” he said. “It’s about us hearing from the professionals, and we’re open-minded about it.”

Lehner said it’s important not to have a knee-jerk reaction.

“Whenever a tragedy like this occurs, people feel they have to do something,” Lehner said. “A lot of time and effort goes into sometimes doing something that is ineffective and wastes money. That’s why we’re leaning heavily on experts.”

Earlier discussions included mention of the high bar needed to commit someone to a mental-health facility, that they must be a danger to themselves or others, Lehner said, and of the inability of school-based and community-based health clinics to share information.

Lehner said legislators would revisit the bullying issue.

“There are schools that have actually become bully-free zones.”

LaRose and Lehner said they want to complete their work before the House moves the state budget over to the Senate by mid-April.

“I don’t believe one solution fits all in most cases,” said Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina. “I think you need to have some flexibility that local school officials can have some input on what makes their buildings safer.”